ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Hi,
Completely new to the forum but have been reading with great interest for some time, what a fantastic comunity
I have a question and would appreciate any comments;
In my living room I currently have a pair of Beovox Pentas which have previously been connected to a Beocenter 9500. Unfortunately, due to thunder, it has broken and is beyond repair : /
Not wanting to get rid of the Pentas, which I love, I now have to find a new amp and have narrowed it down to two choice;
1) Buy a Beocenter 9300 and a Sonos Port for connectivity
2) Buy a Sonos Amp
The money is similar and the cables are already in the walls so my only concern is to get the "best" possible sound from the speakers i.e that old warm sound I can listen to for hours (the clear and crisp sound I get from other speakers).
All else being equal, I would go with option 1 due to design, the cd function etc I get from the Beosound 3000.
I´m slightly concerned the 9300 is now also quite old and so the risk is it may need to be replaced again.
From a pure sound perspective, how much of a difference do you think the amp will make and what set up would you go for?
Any input is greatly appreciated!
J
Beolab 4000 mk 1
Beolab 6000 mk2
Beovox Penta
Beosound 3000 mk 1
Beogram 9500
Sadly gone:
Beocenter 9500
"You think we can slap some oak on this thing?"
Thanks Leo and sorry for my ignorance but I thought the 9300 had same amp as the 9500 so no Icepower?
Your opinion then is that the 9300 will sound better than the sonos despite only producing 2 x 80 watt compared to 2 x 125 watt from the Sonos?
Cracking idea except I have no technical skills whatsoever so not really an option for me.
Also, I would not know where to place them....
Any preference for either of the alts above?
//J
Lawrance, thanks, this may very well be an option!
As I am using Sonos as my multi room system I would not want to mix it with the core. It should work with a Sonos port tho, which is what i have connected with to BS3000. I´d need to get a second port.
Sonos Port - Beoamp 2 - Beovox Pentas
Do you know what kind of EQ settings the Beoamp2 offers or is this controlled through the BEO app through a Core?
Leo,
I can play CD´s through my BS3000 and get the sound through Sonos to the Pentas so its not a necessity.
Should probably be able to arrange a loan of an Amp.
What do you think of option 3 which Lawrence suggested?
//jonas
Only issue with that suggestion is that the BeoSound 3000 is already connected to a BL4000/BL6000 set up and I´m assuming I would have to have the same source playing also on the Pentas (at same volume?).
So that would not work for me.
I could buy another BS3000 and then have a Sonos Port hooked up to that to create a "seperate zone" bit then we are starting to add a lot of equipment and cables.....
It seems neither one of you is recommending to pair the Beovox Pentas with the Beocenter 9300?
The questions then becomes wether the Beoamp2 set-up is worth it over the Sonos Amp in terms of music quality?
Ready built ICEPower amplifiers are made by Ghent Audio.
https://www.ghentaudio.com/amp/
However this is Chinese company and their ICEPower boards are not necessary genuine Danish.
Does anyone here know the Ghent Audio's products?
Thanks all for comments and suggestions!
A few questions/clarifications and apologies in advance for being slow;
I should perhaps clarify that I have chosen Sonos as my multiroom system so everything needs to be connected to Sonos at some point in the chain...
No one is recommending the Beocenter 9300 for the amp function - why? I thought the 9000-series was the original partner for the Beovox Pentas?
ICEPower is the best way to go?
Option 1 then would to go with the Beoamp2 which gets me 2x125w icepower but then I would need a receiver to control volume/tone etc to connect to Sonos port.
Sonos Port - eg BS3000 - Beoamp2 - Pentas
There is a used Beoamp2 on ebay for EUR 480, a BS3000 I can pick up for EUR 250 so total cost incl. Sonos Port comes to EUR 1.180
Option 2 is basically the same except switching out the Beoamp 2 for a Ghent Audio option
Their 2x125w version costs EUR 930 so total cost incl. Sonos Port comes to EUR 1.630
Option 3 would be to just use the Sonos Amp which would give me 2x125w but no icepower. Cost EUR 800
Option 4 which no one seems to like is the Beocenter 9300 which would give me 2x80w no icepower
Sonos Port - Beocenter 9300 - Pentas
Cost would be EUR 250 for the 9300 and 450 for the Port so total EUR 700
None of the above take into account import duties (ghent is chinese?) cables or installation costs.
Further questions;
How much flexibility do i have in terms of placement when running cables from the amps to the speaker and then from amps to receiver? I.e will i lose sound quality by running long cables?
Can I use a beocenter 9300 in the beoamp2/ghent set up? I.e only use the 9300 as a receiver and bypassing the built in amp?
Am I correct that the Beolab Pentas had 150 and 200w amplifiers depending on version?
Are the D-class amplifiers in general and ICEPower amps in particular, more capable at the same watt spec?
Am i getting the options right and if so, which options makes most sense?
Quick bump to see if anyone has any final recommendations on this?
cheers
Have a nice day / Peter Pan.
DIY - Make BeoVox Penta active.
Thanks for the suggestion!
A few questions then;
Where do i place the amps? I.e how much cable can I run between the amp and the speakers, or do they fit in the actual speaker casing?
This is not something I would attempt to do myself, so I would need to get someone else involved; how many hours of work would you say this is?
Would this be the correct amp? https://www.soundimports.eu/en/icepower-200asc.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAo4OQBhBBEiwA5KWu_7sVySae5--ltFTQY1su8dFPf9h0KcLA_BHn7cy4bBLnvcmx4IuVgRoCVkoQAvD_BwE
What else do I need to buy in terms of parts, cables etc?
All guidance here is very appreciated!
Thanks
Hi jackie0Yes ICEpower 200ASC is right. The task is pure DIY. There was once more information on hifi4all.dk forum, but the thread has been deleted.
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